What's Up, Up Here? All the news and gossip for Aug. 26 - Sept. 1

August 27, 2011

From tourism chief John Urdi on Wednesday morning: â€śNice wake-up call this morning at 5 a.m. with a 4.2 magnitude earthquake.â€ť â€¦

Mike Abbott on Facebook Wednesday morning: â€śUmmmmm ... was that an East Coast aftershock here?â€ť â€¦
Yep, that was Dan Hansen of MMSA rodding about, here and there. â€śJust drove a Bentley Continental GT Supersport Convertible. It was a little painful to get back into my truck afterwards.â€ť â€¦

Itâ€™s been 50 years since Rutgersâ€™ undefeated football season, and all the guys are getting together next October in New Brunswick where they will get a full halftime treatment and the whole bit. Among them will be the scampering quarterback Sam Mudie of Crowley Lake, described by legendary announcer Chris Schenkel as â€śthe runningest quarterback youâ€™ll ever see.â€ť â€¦

As the seasons begin to change, Our Neighbor Neitzsche said, â€śAll great change occurs in silence.â€ť Kinda wish the Town Council (and others) would listen up. ...

In the last few decades, leaky water pipes in Mammoth have spilled far less water than ever â€” from 30 million gallons to just 9.2. â€¦

Elizabeth Tenney, always on the lookout for great things to say about Our Town, says sheâ€™s impressed with the new re-do of Meridian Boulevard, the new landscaping at the Lutheran Church, new signs at the Plaza and etc. â€śWe may be down, but weâ€™re not out,â€ť she says. â€¦

Practically everyone knows that thereâ€™s going to be a new Chinese restaurant, the Red Lantern, on Old Mammoth Road, but practically no one knows that a Greek restaurant will occupy the top floor called Jimmyâ€™s Taverna. â€¦

On Aug. 16, Ryan Sheckler stopped by the San Clemente Orthodontic office of our own Dr. Frank Mogavero to autograph a picture Dr. Mogavero took of him when he won the gold medal in the 2003 X-Games Street Competition. Â Ryan stuck around and signed some autographs for a few lucky friends, patients, and staff who were present. â€¦

Buster, the big black lab whoâ€™s gained national recognition for his work finding the remains of missing Marines and missing crime victims, got a clean bill of health from the vet recently. The news came this week, after a terrifying scare for owner Paul and Jeri Dostie, who heard earlier this summer that Buster might have an incurable cancer. â€¦

Gosh it was great to see Skip Harvey back on the dais last week at the Town Council meeting. Looking hale and hearty. â€¦

At first he was strictly interim, but now that Police Chief Dan Watson has endured two summers, a brutal winter and a permanent position, it definitely looks like heâ€™s one of us, particularly now that he and his wife have bought a home here.â€¦

The first â€śJudas fishâ€ť have been released. As the Biblically inspired name suggests, the fish â€” surgically altered and non-native lake trout â€” were implanted last week with tiny radio transmitters in Yellowstone â€” are intended to betray. The goal: annihilation to protect the native â€” and protected â€” cutthroat. The idea is that the electronic chips will lead trout hunters into the cold, deep corners of Yellowstone Lake, where the fish might be killed in volume, said Bob Gresswell, a research biologist at the U.S. Geological Survey and leader of the Judas team â€” a strike force in the biggest lake-trout-killing program in the nation. â€¦

Mammoth Hospital surgeon Dr. Pete Clark may have saved another life, this time outside of the line of normal hospital duties. When asked, he sent this modest account to the MT: â€śI was on a long, solo mountain bike ride outside of Ketchum, Idaho, last week and after not seeing anyone for four hours, IÂ ran into a man who had just crashed and likely broken his neck moments before. I stayed with him, stabilized him and orchestrated a helicopter evacuation. The timing of it was very fortunate and unusual, but honestly it wasnâ€™t anything more than our local paramedics, firefighters and Search and Rescue do most days of the week.â€ť True as it comes and one more reason to be glad to live here. â€¦

Happy birthday, Linda Cobb! â€¦

Intrepid Sergeant Karen Smart says there was nothing unexpected at last weekendâ€™s MammothFest, â€śbut there were a few people who had a little too much to drink.â€ť Like that woman sprawled on Main Street, yelling incoherently? â€śMost of the people had friends who got them home,â€ť said Smart.